Chapter 38 A PROBLEM SHARED

EVE

Staring at Ebere, I can't keep the smile from forming on my lips. She looks amazingly beautiful. There's a radiant glow about her. She also looks like she has put on some weight. It suits her absolutely.

I haven't seen her this happy since we were in our first year in the university.

A sigh escapes my lips as I gaze at the engagement ring on her finger for the umpteenth time.

"It's so beautiful, bestie. Words can't express how happy I am for you. I hope you know I'm going to be your chief bridesmaid."

"Before nko? You thought you could escape it?"

"I wouldn't have missed it for the world." I reply genuinely, holding her hand tightly.

"Here's your order, madams."

The waiter puts a huge bowl of ice cream on the table and makes to leave.

"Please can we have some plastic cups also?" Ebere pleads, hands up in the air in a prayer pose.

Waiter nods and returns with them not long after. When he leaves, we busy ourselves by scooping hazel nut ice cream into our individual plastic cups.

"We're going to add a ton of weight with this ice cream." I grumble, as I scoop a large spoon of ice cream into my mouth.

Ebere doesn't respond to this, except to smile. She makes a show as she scoops a particularly large spoon of ice cream and chucks it into her mouth. She moans, closing her eyes in delight. "I don't care. At least I'd be heavenly fat."

I giggle at her words and we continue eating ice cream in companionable silence.

I take a breather from ice cream heaven to look around me.

I must be a sucker for pain, because I invited Ebere to the snacks shop directly beside Tina's cereal shop.

You know the one Batman took me to on our first date, where I ate delicious fruit cereal shaped as naked professors.

Remember?

It gives me a nostalgic feeling.

Batman wouldn't --- couldn't take his eyes off me.

Same day I found out he was a playboy.

I also remember that was the day Ebere and I concocted the 'Ten commandment plan' on how to get Segun to fall in love with me.

Look how that panned out.

I force myself to the present when Ebere begins to talk.

" ---- you tell me."

"Sorry, what were you saying?"

She puts her spoon inside her half - full cup, folds her arms on the table and looks at me keenly.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Her gaze has suddenly turned cold.

Confused as to what she means, I fix her with a look of incomprehension. "What do you mean? Tell you what?"

"Don't play dumb with me. You know exactly what I'm talking about."

Her gaze is frosty. Her eyes are like two puddles of ice as she drowns me with a stormy look.

I'm nonplused. Why is she angry?

No, she's not angry --- she's livid.

Her nostrils have begun to flare.

This always happens when she's upset about something.

Okay, but what about me is she mad about?

Her next words freeze me to the spot.

"Your pregnancy. You were pregnant. . . for Segun."

Cold dread washes over me.

She knows.

How? Who told her? How did she get to find out?

No one knows apart from the doctor.

So how on earth could Ebere know?

She see's the conflicting emotions on my face and leans back.

"So it's true! And here I was thinking Chioma was lying."

"I. . . It's." But I can't go on. Instead, I hang my head in shame as my mind races.

Does she also know that I can't give birth again?

Does she know that I'm half woman?

Her hands snake around my cold one's in a soft grasp. "Babe. . . I am your best friend. You should have confided in me. I should have been there for you, to help you through it. No one should have to go through the loss of a child alone, least of all you."

Within a fraction of a second, she's kneeling at my side and crushing me into a hug.

I collapse into her with sobs that rack my whole body.

"It's okay, let it out." She pats me like a baby and I revel in it.

Through the maze of tears, I draw strength from my best friend's warmth, as she continuously smooths my hair and pats me on my back, all the while crooning tender words into my ear.

When the tears finally cease, I pull back and smile through the haze of tears that cloud my eyes.

She cleans the remnants of tears sliding down my cheek with a hankie that smells of her distinctive perfume and fixes me with a tender gaze.

"How could you not tell me? You make me think I'm not good enough to be your best friend."

I shake my head, about to voice words of protest, but she stops me with a finger in the air to silence me, and a look that brooks no nonsense, then she gets up and goes back to sit down on her recently vacated seat.

"After all we went through together, you thought it best to keep stuff to yourself?" She shakes her head in disappointment. "Tell me everything, and please, don't leave anything out." She finishes with a smile and nods encouragingly at me.

Sighing, I clutch her hankie in a fist, lean my elbows on the table and begin my story.

Around us, people move about their business, either ordering food and chatting or eating.

My mind is on auto pilot as I go down memory lane.

I start by telling her how I set out on the fateful day of the accident, almost giving up on telling Segun. I also tell her how nauseous I felt. When I get to the part when the baton hit my stomach the first time, Ebere gasps, tears springing into her eyes.

I finally finish my story with the words Segun told me in the hospital, flinching as the bitter words spill from my lips.

Once I'm done talking, silent tears drop unheeded, onto my outstretched palms.

My shoulders shake from the continous sobs racking through my body.

Once more, Ebere gets up and comes to me, holding me close, her voice tinged with sadness. "I'm so sorry you had to go through all that alone. I'm sorry I wasn't there to help you. Please forgive me." Can we please get out of here? Let's go to a place where we can talk and cry freely."

I nod into my palms, willing myself to get under control, as she helps me get up. We walk off, abandoning the almost - full tub of ice cream.

My tears dry up as we walk out of the ice cream parlour. Ebere holds our bags, not allowing me carry anything. She insists on driving so as not to put me under stress, so I hand her the keys of the car.

She oohs and aahs over how fluid the steering wheel is, cracking a few jokes and making me giggle. With my spirit lifted, I feel much better and settle down in the seat.

She drives us to a quiet bar where we get tucked into a booth at the back, cordoned off from everyone else. She couldn't have chosen a better place for privacy.

Once a bottle of wine is placed in front of us, I relax and let loose, as the tension seeps out from me.

She encourages me to tell the story of the accident again, this time not leaving out any details.

I do so with dry eyes this time. I'm just going through the motions now.

When I'm done, I realise I left out the most important part; the part where the doctor informed me of my barrenness.

She doesn't need to know that.

Once I'm done and we are on the second bottle of wine, Ebere begins to cry.

"What the heck? Why are you crying?" My brows furrow in confusion at her outburst.

Good thing we are sequestered away at the back because when Ebere bawls, it's not pretty.

It's my turn to hold her. She immediately puts her head on my shoulders and drenches the upper part of my top with her tears. Snort has already begun to drip from her nostrils and I practically plug her nose with the hankie she leant me earlier.

It is with difficulty that she begins to speak --- in between hiccups.

"What *hic* kind of *hic* friend am I *hic.* to let you *hic* be on your own *hic* ?"

Is it wrong for me to laugh at a time like this?

She just looks so funny.

"How can you la. . .*hic* at a time like this *hic* ?"

I jump up, still laughing and go in search of water. By the time I'm back with a bottle, she seems to have gotten herself under control.

After taking some sips, she sighs, shakes her head and looks at me.

"You're evil!"

"And you're cute." I reply, touching her chubby cheeks.

"I love you, bestie." She says, flinging her arms around me.

"Aww! I love you too, sweetheart."

When we break apart some seconds later, she tells me to promise not to ever keep anything away from her.

With a guilty conscience, I nod.

I'm sorry bestie, but I can't tell you that I can't ever give birth again. This one I have to keep close to my chest.

"I'm sorry I couldn't stay with you. You know my company sent me outside Lagos to go check out the supplies there and I had to stay for three months. All the time I was there, I tried your number but couldn't get through."

"I know. Mum told me she switched my phone off because calls and text messages kept coming through. When I gained consciousness and got a hold of my phone, I saw several messages from you."

She sighs again and clutches my hands to her chest. Tears have begun to pool in her eyes once more.

Now she's just being dramatic.

"If you cry again, I will hit you over the head with this empty bottle of wine."

I pick up the bottle threateningly and that's when I notice something odd. I'd been so wrapped up in my story that I didnt notice that only one glass is on the table, and I'm the only one that drank from it.

I drank one and a half bottles of wine? Wow!

I turn to her now, my brows furrowing fiercely. "Why are my the only one drinking?" I indicate the half bottle of wine on the table.

"Well. . . "

A coy smile spreads across her lips and she blinks away the tears. Thank goodness she's stopped crying. She looks down, probably at her shoes, I can't tell, but then her hand rises slowly and comes to rest on her stomach.

"You have a stomach ache?"

She keeps smiling mysteriously and rubbing her stomach, ignoring my question.

Okay! If she has a stomach ache, why then is she smiling?

She should be writhing in pain instead.

Unless. . .

I turn to look at her, mouth agape.

"Are you shitting me right now? I'm going to become an aunt soon?"

The wide smile on her face is evidence enough.

I squeal and throw myself at her.

"Careful!" She steadies me. "I wasn't exactly sure until when I bought those pregnancy sticks and peed on them some days ago." She gushes, a full - on smile, splayed on her face. "I've missed my period for about two months now, so I stopped by at the hospital yesterday to take a proper test and voila, it's confirmed."

Her eyes are shining with happiness.

No wonder she's got a glow about her. It's a pregnancy glow.

"Have you told Dipo yet?"

She shakes her head. "I'll tell him when he comes back home today." She smiles widely once more. "I just moved in with him and Stacy yesterday."

I stare at her in shock.

"That's a really big move. Wow! I wouldn't have expected this of you, after --- "

"Yes! I know, but Dipo is nothing like Zubi. He knows of my past and also of my break up with Chucks. He's always treated me well and I feel absolutely safe with him, so there's nothing to be worried about."

Ebere's father moved to his country home a few years back so she'd been living on her own for quite a while.

"He doesn't like me staying on my own. He said it would be better if I move in so I can be under his protection."

"Hmm! Great idea, but you better tell him that if he so much as lays a finger on you, he has me to contend with." I reply, trying to go for a stern face, but failing miserably.

"I'll make sure I pass on your message." She replies, bowing mockly.

"Honestly though, I'm really happy for you, what with finding out about Chucks and his misdemeanor."

She waves it away with a flick of her hand. "Thank God I caught him red handed. I was already twisted up about two - timing the both of them."

There's silence as we each recede into our thoughts.

"Babe, there's something else I want to discuss with you." She starts.

"Yes. There's also something I need to discuss with you, too." I tell her.

"You first, then." She concedes, wth a smile.

"How did you find out I was pregnant?" I ask straight away, a frown settling on my forehead.

"Segun told me." She puts up a hand when she see's me ready to ask how he knew. "Chioma told him. She called him to come help her out of jail."

My eyes almost bulge out of their sockets.

She called and he went. Great!

"I see that look, but don't be too quick to jump to conclusions. When he found out, he drove straight to your place but your mum told him you'd gone out. After camping in front of your house for hours and calling your number repeatedly, but couldn't get through, he c --- "

"I blocked and deleted his number." Unfortunately, I haven't been able to delete him from my heart, yet.

"Aww babes! I know how you feel, but don't be too hasty in shutting him down, yet."

"I don't want to talk about him, please. Let's just talk about something else, instead."

She nods and decides to ask how Femi is instead.

"He's really fine. He's spoiling me silly. He showers me with so much gifts."

"On top of giving you a credit card, he keeps giving you gifts, too. That man must be freaking loaded."

I smile, because it's true. Seems there's no limit to Femi's wealth and power.

Just recently I found out he has businesses dotted all over the world, going as far as Greece.

I wouldn't have known if I hadn't heard him discussing with his Greek partners over the phone, before he deftly switched to speaking in German language.

I had already heard him speaking in French, Italian and Spanish. This led me to wonder just how many languages he could speak.

When I asked him, he said he could only speak the basics of those languages, not in depth. He went ahead to explain that when he was growing up, he had the opportunity of working in Spain, Italy and Germany for a few years and that's how he was able to pick up a bit of the languages.

"Are you happy, though, bestie?"

Ebere breaks up my thoughts. I stare at her, noticing the serious look on her face.

"You're the pregnant one, I should be asking you that, not the other way round."

I smile at her to allay her fears.

"So Chioma, huh?! She was behind your accident." She changes tangent.

She must have been thinking about the whole accident thing, again.

I nod, a grim look replacing the smile on my face. "She said she squished my pregnancy like a bug. Can you imagine? She's so full of hate. I blame it all on Segun. This won't have happened if I'd never met him."

"But!" She starts, her eyes shooting question marks. "Haven't you wondered how Chioma got to know you were pregnant?"

The thought had most definitely crossed my mind and I had voiced my fears to Femi, once again, but he insisted he'd get to the bottom of it and I wasn't to stress myself unnecessarily.

When I tell this to Ebere, her eyes narrow, but she says nothing, neither do I.

We're once more lost in each other's thoughts.